Monday, September 6, 2010

Regret

It was and is quite trendy for many people to say that they don't regret anything. The mantra is that what happened to you is what made you what you are, and thus you should regret nothing.

Here my point: regret is a human feeling, like hunger or thirst, you can't control it. I'm quite proud to say that I regret things, a lot of things, indeed, because I'm human and it's human to regret as it's human to make mistakes that you'll later regret. Now, if you wish, you can lie and tell yourself the same old story, that you don't regret a single thing. But, tell the truth: that very lame moment of your childhood, teen-years, whatever. That moment when you though you'd better be at home sleeping... yeah, the feeling you get recalling this, this is regret. And you can't control this.

If you want, you can tell: OK, I regret I've say/done this pretty lame thing... but it made me who I am and I wouldn't change it now, for changing that little bit could be a great deal in the configuration of my personality. This is much more honest than the cool statement about not regretting anything: recognizing that some things which provoke regret in you are also a part of yourself.

I regret. And there are many things that I would change.